# Install libgetdata with Homebrew, apt Reference implementation of the Dirfile Standards. Version 0.11.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-19. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:libgetdata ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install libgetdata ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ### Linux - Debian apt (92%): ```sh sudo apt install libf95getdata7 ``` Evidence: Debian stable package indexes: libf95getdata7 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:libgetdata - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Package manager page:** - **Version:** 0.11.0 - **Source summary:** Reference implementation of the Dirfile Standards - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Upstream docs:** - **License:** LGPL-2.1-or-later - **Source archive:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-19T12:32:36-07:00 - **Generated:** 2026-07-08T07:18:31+00:00 ## Executables - checkdirfile (cli) - dirfile2ascii (cli) - checkdirfile (alias) - dirfile2ascii (alias) ## Dependencies - libtool ## Uses from macOS - perl ## Install behavior - Post-install hook: not defined - Bottle: available on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-07-08 - Package-manager version: 0.11.0 - Package-manager updated: 2026-06-19 - Local data: ok - Upstream repository: https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - info: Release/tag comparison is only available for GitHub repositories. ## Project history and usage GetData is the reference implementation of the Dirfile Standards, a filesystem-based, column-oriented format for time-ordered binary data. Its history is unusually tied to scientific instrumentation: it grew out of quick-look and analysis needs in balloon-borne cosmology experiments, then became a standalone library and format reference. ### Project history The GetData project page states that GetData and the Dirfile Standards were originally written by C. B. Netterfield and later maintained by D. V. Wiebe. It was originally written for the BOOMERanG and BLAST experiments as a data format suitable for quick-look and data reduction, and it began as one of the native data formats supported by the kst plotting program. As use spread beyond those experiments, GetData became a standalone library. The project documents C, C++, Fortran, IDL, MATLAB, Perl, PHP, and Python bindings, plus command-line utilities such as checkdirfile and dirfile2ascii. ### Adoption history GetData adoption is domain-specific rather than mass-market. The official page names cosmological and astrophysical users including ACT, Planck, Spider, BOOMERanG, and BLAST, and describes BLAST analysis dirfiles with roughly 10^4 fields and 10^8 samples each. Package-manager adoption reflects that niche: Homebrew, Debian, and Ubuntu package it for scientific users who need the reference implementation and its language bindings rather than a general database server. ### How it is used GetData is used to read and write dirfiles, whose data streams live as binary files with ASCII metadata describing raw and derived fields. The format is optimized for fast, simple storage and retrieval of time-ordered data, including concurrent read/write scenarios. The package is useful when software needs a stable on-disk format for high-volume sampled data, plus bindings for analysis environments. The included tools validate dirfile metadata and export dirfile contents to ASCII. ### Why package nerds care GetData is the kind of package that keeps scientific archives reproducible: small, old-school C, autotools, man-page standards, and bindings for several analysis languages. It matters less for popularity metrics than for preserving access to experiment data and legacy analysis pipelines. Its package name is also easy to underestimate. In distro graphs it is not a generic downloader; it is a reference implementation for a specialized scientific data standard. ### Timeline - 2008: Project website copyright range begins and GetData 0.3-era documentation marks the legacy API transition. - 2012: Dirfile Standards Version 9 published, according to the GetData README history note. - 2015: GetData was registered in the Astrophysics Source Code Library as ascl:1512.02. - 2017: GetData 0.10.0 became the first release to support Dirfile Standards Version 10. - 2021: GetData 0.11.0 was released on 12 November 2021. ### Related projects - Dirfile is the file-format standard that GetData implements. kst is historically related as the plotting program whose quick-look needs shaped early usage. BOOMERanG, BLAST, ACT, Planck, and Spider are named scientific users in the project documentation. ### Sources - - - - - - ## Security Notes library-like package without higher-risk signals. - **Geiger risk:** green / low - library-like package without higher-risk signals ## Source Database Details - **Source Database:** Homebrew formula API - **Tap:** homebrew/core - **Full Name:** libgetdata - **Version Scheme:** 0 - **Revision:** 0 - **Bottle Stable Root URL:** - **Deprecated:** no - **Disabled:** no - **Keg Only:** no - **URL Keys:** stable ## Other Package-Manager Records - Debian apt - libf95getdata7 - 0.11.0-15+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libf95getdata7 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | library to read/write dirfile data - Fortran 95 bindings | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Debian apt - libfgetdata6 - 0.11.0-15+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libfgetdata6 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | library to read/write dirfile data - Fortran 77 bindings | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Debian apt - libgetdata++7 - 0.11.0-15+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libgetdata++7 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | library to read/write dirfile data - C++ bindings | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Debian apt - libgetdata-dev - 0.11.0-15+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libgetdata-dev from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | library to read/write dirfile data - devel files (C, C++, F77, F95) | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Debian apt - libgetdata-doc - 0.11.0-15: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libgetdata-doc from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | library to read/write dirfile data - API and standards documents | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Debian apt - libgetdata-perl - 0.11.0-15+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libgetdata-perl from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | library to read/write dirfile data - perl bindings | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Debian apt - libgetdata-tools - 0.11.0-15+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libgetdata-tools from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | library to read/write dirfile data - extra tools | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Debian apt - libgetdata8 - 0.11.0-15+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: libgetdata8 from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | library to read/write dirfile data | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Debian apt - python3-pygetdata - 0.11.0-15+b1: normalized package name match | Debian stable package indexes: python3-pygetdata from https://deb.debian.org/debian/dists/stable/main/binary-amd64/Packages.xz | library to read/write dirfile data - Python3 bindings | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Ubuntu apt - libf95getdata7 - 0.11.0-13: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libf95getdata7 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | library to read/write dirfile data - Fortran 95 bindings | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Ubuntu apt - libfgetdata6 - 0.11.0-13: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libfgetdata6 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | library to read/write dirfile data - Fortran 77 bindings | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Ubuntu apt - libgetdata++7 - 0.11.0-13: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libgetdata++7 from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | library to read/write dirfile data - C++ bindings | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Ubuntu apt - libgetdata-dev - 0.11.0-13: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libgetdata-dev from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | library to read/write dirfile data - devel files (C, C++, F77, F95) | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Ubuntu apt - libgetdata-doc - 0.11.0-13: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libgetdata-doc from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | library to read/write dirfile data - API and standards documents | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Ubuntu apt - libgetdata-perl - 0.11.0-13: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libgetdata-perl from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | library to read/write dirfile data - perl bindings | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ - Ubuntu apt - libgetdata-tools - 0.11.0-13: normalized package name match | Ubuntu 24.04 LTS package indexes: libgetdata-tools from https://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/dists/noble/universe/binary-amd64/Packages.gz | library to read/write dirfile data - extra tools | https://getdata.sourceforge.net/ ## Related links - [Terminal utility packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/terminal-utilities/) - Matched terminal and command-line workflow metadata. - [Text processing packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/text-processing-tools/) - Matched text, document, or structured-data processing metadata. - [Networking and protocol packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/networking-protocol-tools/) - Matched network, protocol, or remote-service metadata. - [Database and data packages](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/database-data-tools/) - Matched database, SQL, migration, or data-store metadata. - [libtool](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/libtool/) - Runtime dependency declared by Homebrew. - [netcdf](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/netcdf/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: c-library, cli, data, scientific-data. - [cgns](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/cgns/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, scientific-data. - [hdf5](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/hdf5/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, scientific-data. - [hdf5-mpi](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/hdf5-mpi/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, scientific-data. - [netcdf-cxx](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/netcdf-cxx/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, scientific-data. - [netcdf-fortran](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/netcdf-fortran/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, scientific-data. - [adios2](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/adios2/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, scientific-data. - [alluxio](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/alluxio/) - Shares av.db curated category or tags: cli, data, storage. - [traildb](https://www.automicvault.com/pkg/brew/traildb/) - Local package facts share a topical domain. Shared terms: c-library, cli, data, series, time. ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/libgetdata.yml](https://github.com/automic-vault/db/blob/main/combined/libgetdata.yml) ## Sources - Nucleus package database - Geiger risk classifier - package-page enrichment - curated package history - package version freshness - av.db category and tag curation - package relationship graph - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph